Two Galileo satellites were successfully launched

Sep.16,2015

Satellites launched on a Soyuz rocket at the Guiana Space Centre

The European Union (EU) successfully launched two satellites in the Galileo global navigation satellite system on Soyuz rockets at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana at 23:08 on September 10 local time (11:08 on September 11 JST). These are the ninth and tenth Galileo satellites, and the fifth and sixth for its Full Operational Capability (FOC).

Image of the two Galileo satellites launched into orbit

The rocket reached its target orbit of 23,500 kilometers roughly three hours and 48 minutes after the launch, when the satellites were released. They are named “Alba” and “Oriana,” and will be put on an operational orbit in the future.